𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐒𝐒 , 𝘵𝘢𝘺𝘭𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘸𝘪𝘧𝘵

chapter two | promotion dinner

            LAST NIGHT FELT like a dream and not a good one, a nightmare. After the run-in with Taylor, she couldn't sleep. To say she was sleepy was an understatement. She was exhausted. She walked into the store to find her friend and her boss waiting for her.

There was a smile on her boss' face. She wasn't sure what could be the source of it though.

The last time she saw the two of them together like this was when the store was almost shut down. Now, this was under different circumstances. This was a happier occasion. What was happening?

As she got closer to the counter, the two looked at her like they were dying to tell her something. She thought she was getting a raise. "How was the shift last night?" Her boss asked curiously as he leaned against the wall. He knew how it went, Elvis told him about it earlier which helped him make a decision.

He turned sixty-seven a few months ago. He was looking for someone to take his place as the owner. With that title, she could remove anything that reminded her of the pain and sadness that Taylor caused. She wouldn't do that though. She didn't want to take happiness away from other people.

"It was fine, I guess. Just kind of busy as usual." She replied before walking back to the employee lounge to put her stuff down. "Someone came in looking for a job though." She added once it popped into her mind.

He nodded and then signaled for her to follow him to his office. She followed behind him, worried about what was going on. The many possibilities ran through her mind, one being she could be fired, or maybe it was a good thing. All she knew was that she needed this job.

The two sat down, her boss sitting in his chair while Y/n sat across from him. "I thought you should know that I hired the woman that you mentioned." He spoke and then thought of how to tell her about the promotion. "Now, the important stuff. As you know, I've recently reached the age of retirement." He started with a grin.

"Yeah, I remember that."

"This won't happen yet but I'm giving you the store."

This was the last thing she expected. She didn't plan on working here forever, but now, she can't imagine her life without it. She wasn't sure how to feel that someone trusted her with something like this. "Congratulations, Y/n. You deserve it." He spoke happily and then signaled for her to get back to work.

A smile appeared on her face as she stood up and left the office. Maybe her life was starting to turn around.

She worked her shift as usual, not telling anyone about her talk with the boss. After her last customer left the store, she watched as the new employee walked by to clean up the shelves in the romance section. She remembered when she had that job. Her attention was quickly pulled toward the door when she heard the bell above the door. Someone walked in.

It was the blonde she ran into yesterday. She wondered what she could be there for, and then she started speaking.

"I come in peace," Taylor spoke with a nervous chuckle. She approached the counter to chat with the girl behind it. "I wanted to congratulate you on the huge promotion." How could she have known about that? She never told her about that, she never had the time to tell her.

Taylor soon saw the confused look on her face. That wasn't something she expected. "How did you know about that?" Y/n asked, wondering who could have told her. "I haven't even had the chance to tell my parents yet."

"My mom told me."

She was still confused. Who could have told Andrea? It was either Elvis or her boss, Jimmy. Elvis didn't know her though, that only left one person. "Is that all?" Y/n asked, forming a bit of an attitude.

"I wanted to invite you to dinner go celebrate."

The offer was convincing, and free food sounded great, but with the girl who practically abandoned her? Was she ready for that? She was talking to her now, that was an improvement. Maybe it won't be too bad.

What's the worst that could happen?

"Okay, I'll go." Taylor started getting excited but Y/n was quick to shut it down. She didn't want her to get her hopes up as she did when Taylor promised to stay in touch before she left. Thinking about it adds to the pain of Taylor being here.

Taylor smiled, soon telling her she'd text her the location later. She said goodbye to the girl she still called a friend and then left the store.

It should be fine.

She arrived at the address that Taylor sent her. It wasn't a restaurant, it was a stadium. She walked in to find a stage set up where a field should be. It was a huge stage, bigger than the ones she'd seen.

This must be where Taylor's concert is being held this weekend.

When Taylor invited her to dinner she expected to be at a restaurant. Not a concert location. As she approached the stage, Taylor began to walk out and looked as happy as ever. She always loved the stage, spreading something she loved with a crowd. It was her passion. Everyone knew that even Y/n.

"You know, when you invite someone to dinner they expect to be at a restaurant and not a stage." Y/n spoke as Taylor sat on the ledge of the stage, soon letting her legs dangle. "What am I doing here, Taylor?"

Taylor was confused by her friend's question. She told her exactly why she was here earlier today. She eventually noticed the change in her friend's mood when she was around. She believed that she had a hard day at work and she wanted to make it better. "We're going to dinner, I just have to finish up rehearsals, so I thought you'd want to hang out here for a bit," Taylor explained with a grin before taking a sip of her water.

Y/n nodded before going backstage to look for Andrea, aka her second mom. Along the way, she saw a few people from the band and eventually saw Taylor's father, Scott Swift. She said hello to everyone, the happy memories soon coming back to her. The happy memories were slowly replaced by sadness. She couldn't let one thing ruin all her great memories, she shouldn't. Yet it did exactly that.

She was quickly pulled out of her thoughts by Andrea walking up behind her and placing a hand on Y/n's back to get her attention.

Y/n glanced at her with a grin. She loved Andrea as much as she loved her mother. "You were looking for me?" Andrea smiled, soon pulling her into a tight hug. "Accepting my offer I assume?" She questioned as she guided Y/n to the dressing room.

"No, not today. Taylor was supposed to take me to dinner."

Something about that didn't sound right to Andrea. Did she plan to go during her break? Even then, it wouldn't be enough time. "Are you trying to forgive her?" She questioned.

"I don't know."

She didn't know what to do with an answer like that. She understood Y/n's feelings completely, Taylor was always busy with something but she made time to text her friends. After so long, Andrea noticed the change in Taylor. They would talk all the time and then it started decreasing to nothing. Taylor was so distracted by her job that she didn't notice what was going on, it's happened a lot. She just loved her job that much.

Could Y/n blame her for that?

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brooke speaks!

stayed up till 2:11am for
this. hope there's no
mistakes!